do i have a case? open container/sexual harrasment/police abuse

Do I have a case here???

My girlfriend was walking to a friends house last night and had a bottle of coke with some rum in it. A cop sees her with it and slams her up against the cop car asking about the bottle. She told him it had rum in it and he arrested her for open container and never read her her rights. She is a small girl and they tightened the hand cuffs incredibly tight. They next strip searched her to try to find anything else on her which there was absolutly not. They started asking her all these crazy questions and then asked her if she had a tattoo. She responded "no" and they asked her again, she responded "no sir" and they then STRIP searched her AGAIN!!! Why would it even matter if she had one in the first place???? She was merely walking to a friends house to have a drink. How is the bottle any different from carrying a 6 pack?? She now has a criminal record for being arrested and she was in her senior year at college and her dream was to be a teacher. What should we do? Any way we could sue them? Please help.

Us law only!

joedotts said:

Do I have a case here???

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I don't know ... what state did this happen in?

Plus, this happened your girlfriend not you, so YOU do not have ANY case.

My girlfriend was walking to a friends house last night and had a bottle of coke with some rum in it. A cop sees her with it and slams her up against the cop car asking about the bottle. She told him it had rum in it and he arrested her for open container and never read her her rights.

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If she was "slammed" up against the car without cause, she can file a complaint with the agency or consult an attorney regarding a civil suit. Chances are, the officer will have a slightly differing account.

Oh, and about 90% of arrests never require Miranda rights to be read. They are only required when a person is to be interviewed after they are taken into custody.

She can hire an attorney who can challenge the cause for the stop if she wishes.

They next strip searched her to try to find anything else on her which there was absolutly not.

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Depending on the laws of your un-named state, a strip search is generally done when a person is booked into the jail or if they are suspected of carrying drugs.

How is the bottle any different from carrying a 6 pack??

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Presumably the 6 pack contains six unopened containers of alcohol. The bottle had been opened to add the rum.

She now has a criminal record for being arrested and she was in her senior year at college and her dream was to be a teacher. What should we do? Any way we could sue them?

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WE can not do anything. SHE can hire an attorney and fight the charges in court. If she is convicted, she will have no grounds for a lawsuit. Whether she has grounds for a lawsuit even if she wins will depend on the details and whether she can prove any malfeasance on the part of the officer.

- Carl

CdwJava said:

If she is convicted, she will have no grounds for a lawsuit.

- Carl

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Do you really mean this Carl?

Regardless of a person being guilty or not, if their rights were violated, they would have a legit suit. I do understand that in many cases a suspects charges are dropped when there is a real rights violation situation but that does not mean they cannot sue for a violation of their rights should they be found guilty when their rights were violated.

Obviously it makes it harder to win but being guilty does not automatically suspend a persons rights nor does it preclude them from seeking actions against those that did violate their rights.

justalayman said:

Do you really mean this Carl?

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For the most part, yes. Now, there may be some elements within the arrest and the process that could be successful in a lawsuit, but it has been my experience that unless these violations were particularly egregious, they do not tend to resul in an award.

Regardless of a person being guilty or not, if their rights were violated, they would have a legit suit.

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Well, anyone can sue anyone else for anything. The ods of prevailing are somewhere between slim or none, though ... depending on the laws in the un-named state and the specific allegations in the lawsuit.

For instance, suing for wrongful arrest if convicted would be a waste of time. In theory, you can do it, but in practice, how do you realistically argue you that you were unlawfully arrested when a competent criminal court found you guilty of the crimes alleged?

Not knowing the state, and hearing the story second hand, does not provide much opportunity for feedback. I strongly suspect the officers will have an opposing point of view.

- Carl

I wasn't arguing lawful arrest but possibly some other violation of civil rights.

As as an extreme example.

guy robs a bank. He surrenders and is taken to the station. He is obviously guilty. A couple of the officers having lost faith in the justice system decided to offer their own punishment and take him in the restroom and use a broom handle as a sexual aid so the guy can get a preview of a possible treatment he will receive in prison from his cell mate, Bubba.

They guy is convicted and is sentenced to prison.

He obviously still has a legit civil rights violation.

In the OP's situation, there are a couple things that, while not as extreme as the broom handle, found to be true, could be a possible violation of the girls civil rights (of course depending on a lot of info not posted).

=sentient;2093635]you can counter sue in criminal court for civil award

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No you can't

s the state picked the fight which means they have no immunity from lawsuits

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what fight?

I would start by examining what the officers probable cause was to accost her in the first place and also you can file criminal charges against the officers involved the d.a. will usually not pursue them though then you file against the d.a. for official oppression etc these charges should be filed with a circuit court judge you will be envoking his duties as a magistrate and the police and the d.a. will be standing tall in front of the man and you can get some excellent discovery from these proceedings for a civil suit ok now go to ruleoflawradio.com look at schedule and then call Randy and Deborah may your god or your gods go with you.

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I'll tell you what sentient; I am a bit on the radical side but you are way over the edge of reality.

sentient said:

you can counter sue in criminal court for civil awards

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What does THAT mean??

The OP can sue someone, but there is no "countersuit" here, and criminal court does not handle claims for civil torts.

the state picked the fight which means they have no immunity from lawsuits

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What??

I would start by examining what the officers probable cause was to accost her in the first place

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If convicted, it can be presumed that the issue of probable cause was raised at trial. So, if convicted, it will be presumed that reasonable suspicion for the detention existed and that probable cause for an arrest also existed. If excessive force was used during the course of the contact and arrest, that can be addressed in civil court if the OP has the money to pay for the attorney or has one willing to take the matter on contingency.

and also you can file criminal charges against the officers involved

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She can ask, but if any internal investigation or DA investigation fails to find a violation of criminal law, that is out, too.

the d.a. will usually not pursue them though then you file against the d.a. for official oppression

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Where do you get these terms?

- Carl

Okaaaay ....

I'll bet the cops and others are all running scared of this concept.

Good thing I don't live in your state as that means I don't have to deal with this kind of claptrap. But, I imagine the judges in your state don't deal with it too much, either. Chances are they dismiss it after they have managed to wade through the legal hullaballoo and taken two aspirin.

- Carl

joedotts said:

Do I have a case here???

My girlfriend was walking to a friends house last night and had a bottle of coke with some rum in it. A cop sees her with it and slams her up against the cop car asking about the bottle. She told him it had rum in it and he arrested her for open container and never read her her rights. She is a small girl and they tightened the hand cuffs incredibly tight. They next strip searched her to try to find anything else on her which there was absolutly not. They started asking her all these crazy questions and then asked her if she had a tattoo. She responded "no" and they asked her again, she responded "no sir" and they then STRIP searched her AGAIN!!! Why would it even matter if she had one in the first place???? She was merely walking to a friends house to have a drink. How is the bottle any different from carrying a 6 pack?? She now has a criminal record for being arrested and she was in her senior year at college and her dream was to be a teacher. What should we do? Any way we could sue them? Please help.

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Your girlfriend needs to find a lawyer, one that actualy passed the bar! From what I have seen on this site, most of the people answering the questions are not lawyers. Maybe some of them have watched Boston Legal a few times and have an active fantasy life.

Once the bottle of Coke was open and rum added to it, it became an "open container". If she had an unopened bottle of rum or an unopened six pack, it would not be an "open container". The charge is valid. The abuse is not. Good luck.

"A couple of the officers…use a broom handle as a sexual aid so the guy can get a preview of a possible treatment he will receive in prison from his cell mate, Bubba."

Justalayman:
I guess you missed the part where CdwJava wrote “unless these violations were particularly egregious.” Call me crazy, but I’m thinking a broom stick up the back end qualifies as an egregious violation.

lasvegassue said:

"A couple of the officers…use a broom handle as a sexual aid so the guy can get a preview of a possible treatment he will receive in prison from his cell mate, Bubba."

Justalayman:
I guess you missed the part where CdwJava wrote “unless these violations were particularly egregious.” Call me crazy, but I’m thinking a broom stick up the back end qualifies as an egregious violation.

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Nope, didn't miss it.

There are a couple situations involving the OP's scenario, that depending on the exact situation, could be considered particularly egregious.

justalayman said:

Nope, didn't miss it.

There are a couple situations involving the OP's scenario, that depending on the exact situation, could be considered particularly egregious.

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You are assuming that the strip search was not justified. Unless they were complete idiots, they had some cause for a strip search. Whether the cause for said search will be legally sufficient in the OP's state, who knows?

- Carl